The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Monday deployed 50 recently trained immigration officers to enhance border control operations during the holiday season.
These officers, who recently completed a condensed 3-week Border Control Officers’ module, are stationed at key locations, including Cebu, Bohol, Caticlan, and Clark international airports.
BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco emphasized the need for a bolstered workforce during the holiday season, citing the projected 4 million arrivals and 3.8 million departures in the fourth quarter of 2023.
To streamline the immigration process, the BI has also mobilized augmentation and rapid response teams and introduced mobile counters to address peak travel times.
The BI Chief acknowledges that some waiting time is anticipated during busy periods but assures travelers that it is manageable, urging early arrival for smoother processing.
“We are fully prepared for the peak season and are maximizing our manpower to better service the traveling public,” said Tansingco.
The BI said that it has noted around 32,000 average arrivals and 36,000 average departures in the past few days.
